Louisiana, Appellant v. Phillip Callais, et al.

The Supreme Court said Louisiana's SB8 congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Court also said Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, properly read, did not require the state to create a second majority-minority district, so Louisiana lacked a compelling reason to use race to draw District 6.

The Court affirmed and remanded the lower court's ruling striking down Louisiana's SB8 map, but the prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

Majority

Alito

Roberts

Thomas

Gorsuch

Kavanaugh

Barrett

Dissent

Kagan

Sotomayor

Jackson

This affects how states draw voting maps when they are trying to comply with the Voting Rights Act. In Louisiana, election officials and voters will now face more map changes because the challenged district cannot stand as drawn.

The case returns to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court's decision. Louisiana officials will need to address the invalid map, and affected parties will likely press for a new congressional plan.

The dispute was whether Louisiana's second majority-Black congressional district used race in an unconstitutional way. The state said it was responding to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Louisiana's current SB8 map cannot remain in place as drawn. Voters, candidates, and election officials may now have to adjust to another round of redistricting.

The Supreme Court sent the case back to the federal district court. That court and the parties must now work through what replacement map or further orders are required.